Grip for wire-fence stretchers.



J. G. HEWITT. GRIP FOR WIRETENOE STRE'I'OHERS. nrmoumu FILI-ED 51111.25, 1909.

923,842, Patented June a, 1909.

witncmo saw JOHN G. HEWITT, or ATHENS, OHIO.

GRIP FOR WIRE-FENCE STRETCHERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 25, 1909.

Patented June 8, 1909.

Serial No. 474,060.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. HEWITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Athens, in the county of Athens and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Grips for Wire-Fence Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to grips for use in apparatus for stretching fences of the woven wire type and it consists in the peculiar and advantageous grip hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims appended. v

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a grip constructed in accordance with my invention, as the same appears when properly fixed on and to a woven wire fence. Fig. 2 is an enlarged, horizontal section taken through the grip in a plane above one of the clamps thereof, and showing in detail the construction of the said clamp.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in both views of the drawings, referring to which:

A is a woven wire fence of the conventional construction, and B and C are the upright members of my novel grip. The said members B and C may each be formed of one or more pieces of metal, but I prefer for the sake of cheapness and lightness to make the said members as best shown in Fig. 2that is to say, I prefer that the member B comprise a major portion a of wood, and two upright metallic strips 7) connected to the inner side of the major portion a, and having convex faces 0, and that the member 0 comprise a major portion d of wood and an upright metallic strip e connected to the inner side of the portion 01, and having aconvex face f the said strip e being arranged opposite the space between the strips 7), and being designed to cooperate with the said strips in deflecting or kinking the woven wire Without cutting or otherwise impairing the same. It will be understood in this connection that the said kinking or deflection of the woven wire while held under pressure between the two members B and C materially increases the security of the hold which the members take on the woven wire.

In addition to the members B and C, my novel grip comprises two clamps D and E, and means F, preferably a chain, extending between the said clamps and adapted for use in the connection of the grip with the means for exerting pull on the gri with a view of stretching the fence. The c amps D and E are identical in construction, and therefore a detailed description of'the clamp D, shown in Fig. 2, will suffice to impart a definite understanding of both clamps. The

said clamp D, Fig. 2, comprises a member or section g having a lateral projection h at its forward end, and shaped to rest alongside of and back of the upright member B to which it is fixedly connected, a section 2' detachably connected to the section 9 in the manner indicated at j or in any other manner suitable to the purpose of my invention, and shaped to rest alongside of and back of the upright member C to which it is fixedly connected, a connection 7c between the forward ends of the sections 9 and i, and means carried by the sectioni and adapted to draw the connection 7c taut and hold it in such state in order to bind and fix the upright members against opposite sides of the fence, so that the grip as .a whole will maintain its position on the fence and be supported thereby. The connection 7c is, in the form of a chain, such as illustrated, and one end link of the said chain is designed to be detachably connected with the lateral projection of the section g. An intermediate link of the chain serves for the attachment of one end of the before mentioned means F, and the other end link is designed to be permanentlyconnected to a pin Z extending across the bifurcation of a hand lever m. The said hand lever m is pivoted or fulcrumed at the forward end of its bifurcated portion in a lateral, forked projection 'n at the forward end of the clamp section '5. Thus it will be manifest that when the members B and O are placed at opposite sides of the fence and the clamping sections g and i are detachably connected at j, and the lever m extends laterally outward from the clamping section 71, the chain k can be passed through one of the interstices of the fence, and readily placed over and in engagement with the projection h of the clamping section g. Then when the lever m is moved to the osition shown by full lines in Fig. 2, it will be observed'that the connection or chain is will be drawn taut to tightly bind the members B and C a ainst opposite sides of the fence; and it wiIl also be observed that the connection between the chain 7c and the lever m will be moved past the dead center, with the result that the tension under which the chain 7c is put will operate to securely hold the lever m against the section i and to lock the members B and C under pressure against opposite sides of the fence in such manner t at there is no liability of the said members being accidentally released and permitted to drop away from the fence. It will be noticed, however, that when the handle end of the lever m is pulled away from the clamp section 71 until the connection between chain 7c and lever 1n again passes the center, the chain will be rendered loose, and its end link may then be readily removed from the projection h to permit of the members B and C being disconnected and removed from the fence.

It will be readily gathered from the foregoing that my novel grip may be quickly and easily fixed on the fence, and then the attendant having charge of the operation of stretching the fence may adjust and connect the stretching mechanism, which latter may be of any description, without paying further attention to the grip.

The specific construction of grip herein shown and described constitutes the best practical embodiment of my invention that I ave been able to devise, but it is obvious that in the future practice of the invention such changes in the form, construction and relative arrangement of parts may be made as do not depart from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. A grip for the purpose described, comprising members adapted to be disposed at opposite sides of a fence, a clamping section fixed with respect to one of said members and having an outwardly extending lateral proj ection at its forward end, a clamping section fixed with respect to the other member and detachably connected at its rear end with the corresponding end. of the first named section and having a lateral, outwardly extending forked projection at its forward end, a hand lever having a bifurcated portion pivoted in the said forked projection of the clamping section, and a chain permanently connected to the handlever in the bifurcated portion thereof and back of the pivotal connection between said lever and the forked projection on the second named clamping section, and adapted to be removably placed on the lateral projection of the first named clamping section.

2. A grip for the purpose described, comprising members adapted to be disposed at opposite sides of a fence, upper and lower clamping sections fixed with respect to one of said members and having outwardly extending, lateral projections at their forward ends, upper and lower clamping sections fixed with respect to the other member and detachably connected at their rear ends with the corresponding ends of the first named sections'and having lateral, outwardly extending forked projections at their forward ends, hand levers having bifurcated portions pivoted in the said forked projections of the clamping sections, chains permanently connected to the hand levers in the bifurcated portions thereof and back of the pivotal connections between said levers and the forked projections on the sections, and adapted to be rem ovably placed on the lateral projections of the first named clamping sections, and a chain connected to and extending between intermediate links of the first named chains.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN C. HEWITT.

lVitnesses JAs. H. BLAcxwoon, T. E. TURPIN. 

